I've been to Israel a couple dozen times in the past three decades. The Bible is so grounded in that far off land, and how fortunate I've been to walk the land, sail upon Galilee, go tubing on the Jordan, and to dig beneath the surface. I recall clearly my first trips through ancient Arab villages and what caught my initial attention was how it seemed so many of the houses were under construction. There would be the ground floor with a flat roof, and rebar sticking through the roof indicating further construction was planned. Some of the houses already had a second story ... but again with the rebar sticking though the flat roof. Some had third stories and even four stories - but all had rebar through the roof. Rebar is a steel rod which give strength to the inner core of the concrete. In almost every Arab village, the housetops seemed decorated with rebar rabbit ears, or hitching posts for Santa's reindeer.

During my second visit to Israel, I asked our guide why so many houses were constantly under construction. In turn, he asked me what I was talking about. I said, "I'm wondering about those houses with the rebar sticking though the roofs. He then gave me a quick lesson about Arab culture. A husband and a wife build a house. When a son marries, a second story is added for a son and his wife, and if there are two sons, a third floor is added when that son gets married. The rebar sticks up through the roof in anticipation of further additions. Land is so valuable, when rooms are added, they are added upward and not outward. And here I was thinking that the families were poor and had run out of money to finish the house. In truth, the house was only finished when Mom and Dad had run out of, not money, but sons!

Obviously, the initial house must be built upon a good foundation ... founded on rock, as it were. But I like the sense that the house that Mom and Dad built, the house in which the children are raised, becomes the foundation for the children, and their children's children. The foundation beneath the house must be strong for the house to stand and grow. But when Mom and Dad are on top of their parenting skills, they provide a different foundation. A foundation of honesty; a foundation of morality; a foundation of faith. The foundation within the rooms is as important, in a different way, as the foundation beneath the rooms. Although the houses of our community are constructed differently, it's still fair to say that our houses are the foundation for our children, and by extension, our children's children.

I grew up in one of those Levittown, Cape Cod style houses. It was located in Buffalo, far from Levittown and farther still from Cape Cod. Over the years many people in Levittown, Cape Cod neighborhoods raised the roof of the house for a dormer. But, those wood frame homes would probably never support a third floor. But my Mom created in that house, a home; foundation which still supports her children to this day. And that foundation has nothing to do with concrete and rebar and everything to do with Christ and rebirth. I hope the analogy does not sound like blasphemy, but when Jesus Christ hung upon that cross, the nails through his hands and feet were like rebar through his flesh. This was the foundation my mother shared with us.

Mom worked almost every Saturday night ... a Registered Nurse at a nearby hospital. But every Sunday morning, come rain or come shine (and this being Buffalo, come snow) ... she took us kids to Sunday School, went home for a cat nap, and returned an hour later to sing in the choir while keeping close watch on her five kids in the pew. We kept a close watch on her too, placing quiet bets on long she'd last before nodding off. (And I'm keeping a close eye on you all!) Oh yes, my Mom laid a foundation.

We didn't have much money, but every Sunday morning Mom gave each of us a quarter for the Sunday School offering; most of the time it made it to the plate. I remember Mom at the kitchen table every Saturday evening, writing her own check to the church. Many years later, after she retired, she still supported her church. Sometimes, as she waited for her Social Security check, she'd have peanut butter and crackers to make the money last ... but each week she'd write her check to the church. Yep, my Mom laid a foundation.

Nel and I inherited a coffee table when Mom died. I still remember how that coffee table looked in our tiny Cape Cod living room in Buffalo. At least I remember how it was decorated: a black leather bound Bible sat on top of the table, and on top of the Bible, the latest edition of her devotional booklet, the upper room. How blessed were we five! Mom laid a foundation.

Many of you could recite the same litany about your Moms and Dads. Many of you have laid such a foundation for your own children. You know the old adage that Christianity is always one generation away from extinction. That of course means that if our generation fails to pass the torch of faith to the children of the next, our children's generation will possess only a torch without flame. You cannot light the path with a flameless torch!

But the torch is lit and lively this morning; we are eye-witnesses as two sets of parents gently pass the flame of faith. Today is the day of Courtney's baptism and Ben's affirmation; Courtney at the font, Ben at the altar rail. Courtney's parents making promises; Ben's parents looking on as Ben affirms for himself, the promises made on his behalf at his own baptism. This is a morning of firm foundations! Seems like these families took a lesson from our first reading this morning, the mandate to take the Word of God and "teach (it) to your children, talking about (it) when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise."

Each set of parents is building upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. Bedrock, as it were. Oddly, they choose to build the foundation on, of all things, water. How about that? A watery foundation! In his parable this morning, Jesus talks of the wise man building on rock and the foolish man building on sand. But these wise parents, Jan and Michael and Maggie and Brad set out to raise their children using a liquid foundation, the water of Baptism. But this water is stronger than rebar, because it marks the beginning of a relationship with Jesus which will stand the test of time and eternity.

The people of God have been blessed through the ages with wise builders, who have laid foundations for moral and faithful lives upon Jesus Christ, the Living Rock. And the Church is thankful for folks like you, like the parents of Courtney and Ben, and folks like my Mom. With such a collection of Christian builders, the torch is passed, the flame burns bright, and we need not fear for the future of our Faith!